The Snow Thread

[rsquared]

Forgot to stick these up, 7-day rolling total at Whistler is now up to 3.15m and it looks like it might keep snowing through to Monday. This is now apparently their snowiest November on record. I was only able to ride like 1/3 of mountain when I went up on Wednesday but it was still unbelievable. Snow like a kid from the tropics like me has never seen before. Waist deep powder in places, so incredible.

One month and 6 days ago we were riding mountain bikes right here. Coming down the Garbanzo area and seeing stuff I'd seen all summer buried under 2 metres of snow was a spin out. Even tracks where people had tried (and failed) to jump the new Cow step up on Freight Train on skis!

Yep it is absolutely dumping in whistler at the moment and yes Ryan, you're correct we just broke the record for snow in November with 12 days of the month still to go!! I'm working there as a lifty for the season staying on from my summer season there. Currently travelling across Canada seeing the sights as the mountain wasn't meant to be open yet. Mountain opened 2 weeks early so we are making our way back there ASAP.

Never seen snow before and haven't skied or snowboarded before so can't wait to learn and I've got a new boarding kit waiting back there for me to learn on. 2010 Lib Tech Skate Banana with Ride SPI bindings. Hopefully should be alright when I learn how to use it.

 

[sawtell]

You can either stay in Echo land or at the base of a mountain, the skiers pick for the Hakuba region is Happo 1 and Hakuba 47 is second to that.

I'm staying on mountain at Happo (ski in ski out), place called Hakuba House, seems reasonably priced @ $70AUD a night, when compared to the backpackers in Echoland for like $55 per with little to no amenities(ha).

Can't comment on what Goryu is like but from what i hear you want to be @ Happo or 47 on pow days.

70 a night, what is that for, in regards to accomo? dorm/back packers style? or a room?

its proving quite hard to find some where to stay at the moment!
the thing with gyoru is, it is joined by lift to happo 47. and i heard happo 47, has the best pipe, of which is one of the main things i want to ride over there!

ive found a place just out of gyoru they reckon 400 metres to the goryu gondola, and will probaly end up staying there, its about 65 bucks each a night for a two person room. or 40 bucks for a bed in the dorm...

 

[brisneyland]

Get your stoke on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFqudRG6Zk

 

[mountain_man(1)]

70 a night, what is that for, in regards to accomo? dorm/back packers style? or a room?

its proving quite hard to find some where to stay at the moment!
the thing with gyoru is, it is joined by lift to happo 47. and i heard happo 47, has the best pipe, of which is one of the main things i want to ride over there!

ive found a place just out of gyoru they reckon 400 metres to the goryu gondola, and will probaly end up staying there, its about 65 bucks each a night for a two person room. or 40 bucks for a bed in the dorm...

$70AUD gets you a twin share room, breakfast, Internet, Spa, Sauna, communal kitchen and ski-in-ski out.

I guess if your going to Japan to ski pipe then i guess staying at @ Goryu is fine but I'm there for POW. $65 sounds very reasonable to me.

 

[sawtell]

mmmm i hate sierra!

log on over the weekend, to discover they are having a massive sale..
decide ill buy new pants, pick them. while looking at pants i see a few jackets.... then i start looking at jackets.. cant decide what i want. so i buy two.

so new set of specialblend toofer pants, for 80aud.
two new special blend jackets for less then 80aud each.
and 70 bucks postage. totaling around $300.27 aud. of which the pants alone retail here for 300+..

ordeded about lunch time our time on monday, received this morning about an hour ago.. thats less then 4 days!!!!

 

[Booost]

Week in Breckenridge in Jan! Opinions on the resort?

 

[mountain_man(1)]

Week in Breckenridge in Jan! Opinions on the resort?

Gnarly terrain, I'm there for the last two weeks in Jan. Let me know if your stay overlaps.

 

[Ryan]

Charged thigh deep fresh powder in the alpine on Whistler today. So sick. No photos though, visibility was shocking and the ceiling was way too low for anything scenic. Still, epic. So fricken' stoked right now.

 

[Tristan23]

Charged thigh deep fresh powder in the alpine on Whistler today. So sick. No photos though, visibility was shocking and the ceiling was way too low for anything scenic. Still, epic. So fricken' stoked right now.

What're you guys doing for work over there? Or are you just chillin' and living off savings?

 

[Ryan]

I'm cheffing in a restaurant, Pip's working in a pharmacy. Living out of Whistler means our cost of living is hugely reduced compared to those who live up there, downside is we can't ride everyday, upside is we can afford things like food, a car and a nice roomy apartment to ourselves as opposed to living in a crawlspace and eating rats to survive.

 

[Tristan23]

I'm cheffing in a restaurant, Pip's working in a pharmacy. Living out of Whistler means our cost of living is hugely reduced compared to those who live up there, downside is we can't ride everyday, upside is we can afford things like food, a car and a nice roomy apartment to ourselves as opposed to living in a crawlspace and eating rats to survive.

That doesn't sound too bad actually. My girlfriend is moving over to Montreal mid-next year, so, although it's a while away and I really wanted to go this season, i'm considering going over for next season to be nearby. Though, if Steve's rants are anything to go by, finding a job and reasonable accommodation is going to be an absolute annoyance.

 

[Morgan123]

Charged thigh deep fresh powder in the alpine on Whistler today. So sick. No photos though, visibility was shocking and the ceiling was way too low for anything scenic. Still, epic. So fricken' stoked right now.

Not good enough! We want photos, please .

 

[Ryan]

That doesn't sound too bad actually. My girlfriend is moving over to Montreal mid-next year, so, although it's a while away and I really wanted to go this season, i'm considering going over for next season to be nearby. Though, if Steve's rants are anything to go by, finding a job and reasonable accommodation is going to be an absolute annoyance.

Moving to Whistler to be "nearby" your girlfriend in Montreal would be like moving to Thredbo to be nearby your girlfriend in Perth.

It's not that finding a job is any problem; it's finding a job that will give you a realistic chance of making rent each month that's the issue. There's lots of work and plenty of accommodation, it's just that the work pays 2/5ths of fuck all and the accommodation/general cost of living is disgustingly expensive.

You think I was kidding about the living in a crawlspace thing don't you; people pay $600 a month up there to share a bedroom with someone else (so the room is actually costing two people $1200 a month). I spoke to a dude today on the lift who was paying that to live in a garage.

 

[S.]

Moving to Whistler to be "nearby" your girlfriend in Montreal would be like moving to Thredbo to be nearby your girlfriend in Perth.

It's not that finding a job is any problem; it's finding a job that will give you a realistic chance of making rent each month that's the issue. There's lots of work and plenty of accommodation, it's just that the work pays 2/5ths of fuck all and the accommodation/general cost of living is disgustingly expensive.

You think I was kidding about the living in a crawlspace thing don't you; people pay $600 a month up there to share a bedroom with someone else (so the room is actually costing two people $1200 a month). I spoke to a dude today on the lift who was paying that to live in a garage.

Yerp, Whistler isn't too hard a place to find a job, but accommodation there is INSANE during winter, I know people paying almost $800/month to share a room. Some of the conditions people are living in IMO completely defeat the point of even being there - why go to a place like Whistler to live in a cupboard or share a room with literally 15 other people?

That said, it's a pretty full on place in general, you gotta pay to play. Other than the rent, the cost of living isn't THAT high, but the fact that you can go out every night of the week means you go out a lot, and the fact that there are just so many things you can do there means that there's always something sucking money out of your pockets.

In other news, skied the sickest runs I've ever ridden today, steep, endless pillow fields and consistently knee deep untracked powder. I also double-ejected directly under the (completely packed) gondy first run because I'm a spastic, that got some laughter from overhead.

 

[Ryan]

Yerp, Whistler isn't too hard a place to find a job, but accommodation there is INSANE during winter, I know people paying almost $800/month to share a room. Some of the conditions people are living in IMO completely defeat the point of even being there - why go to a place like Whistler to live in a cupboard or share a room with literally 15 other people?

That said, it's a pretty full on place in general, you gotta pay to play. Other than the rent, the cost of living isn't THAT high, but the fact that you can go out every night of the week means you go out a lot, and the fact that there are just so many things you can do there means that there's always something sucking money out of your pockets.

In other news, skied the sickest runs I've ever ridden today, steep, endless pillow fields and consistently knee deep untracked powder. I also double-ejected directly under the (completely packed) gondy first run because I'm a spastic, that got some laughter from overhead.

I too rode the sickest shit I've ever ridden today. We should have some kind of sick-off. I fully endorse the 'fuck that noise' element of your post, no way in hell would I pay that kind of money to live in those conditions.

 

[S.]

I too rode the sickest shit I've ever ridden today. We should have some kind of sick-off. I fully endorse the 'fuck that noise' element of your post, no way in hell would I pay that kind of money to live in those conditions.

GoPro, and it shall be done. Just waiting on mine to come back from warranty, hopefully it'll be here soon.

In all honesty, the mountain itself is the best thing about Whistler, the rest of the place can pretty much go fuck itself. Landlords are fucked right up (the number of horror stories I have, including my own, is just unbelievable), you have to go to Squamish to buy basic clothing and whatnot for reasonable prices, beer costs a mint, the number of yo-bro tools with their skullcandy headphones and pants around their knees is just staggering, most places pay $fuckall, it's full of cockhead tourists and so forth. You can have a great time there as long as you're either cashed up, willing to live in squalor, or not living there long-term IMO. That said, I'll probably be back there next summer.

 

[Ryan]

GoPro, and it shall be done. Just waiting on mine to come back from warranty, hopefully it'll be here soon.

In all honesty, the mountain itself is the best thing about Whistler, the rest of the place can pretty much go fuck itself. Landlords are fucked right up (the number of horror stories I have, including my own, is just unbelievable), you have to go to Squamish to buy basic clothing and whatnot for reasonable prices, beer costs a mint, the number of yo-bro tools with their skullcandy headphones and pants around their knees is just staggering, most places pay $fuckall, it's full of cockhead tourists and so forth. You can have a great time there as long as you're either cashed up, willing to live in squalor, or not living there long-term IMO. That said, I'll probably be back there next summer.

Technically I think they're bra-bros, not yo-bros. Did you know that you can bro-bump ski-poles together as an acceptable form of greeting? Me neither. You can and apparently should though.

 

[S.]

Technically I think they're bra-bros, not yo-bros. Did you know that you can bro-bump ski-poles together as an acceptable form of greeting? Me neither. You can and apparently should though.

You have no idea how many times I've heard the term "shred the gnar" since I got to Revy. Had randoms high-five and/or bro-fist me at the bottom of various runs though, like people I literally hadn't even spoken to.

On the GoPro front, however, mine came back today. Get one and get on it!

 

[Tristan23]

Haha. You guys crack me up.

I'll see what happens.

 

[sawtell]

on a flight to japan in less then 4 hours..

to what seems to be the WORST POSSIBLE TIME OF THE WHOLE SEASON TO HEAD OVER!!!!

non stop snow all season, and the 10 days im there, 7 are said to be over 5 degrees. with one forcast to be 11 degrees at 2000m..

thats almost considered a hot day in summer, not to mention fucking winter.

fuck.